It has long been known that many of the great masters had teams of assistants who helped create the masterpieces we enjoy to this day. The assistants often had specialties...some might paint clouds, others rocks, etc.
Leonardo Da Vinci was no exception.
His painting, "Virgin of the Rocks" has long been thought to have been painted with a team of assistants. Recently the painting was cleaned and it is now believed that the master painted this one all by himself.
So if a team helped paint a masterpiece...does that make it any less masterful? If the "painter" is more or less a director does that make him any less a maestro? Is the ensemble method of art only valid in music and theater or large scale projects such as Christo's that would be physically impossible for a single person to accomplish?
These are interesting questions for artists and art lovers to ponder.
An artist is the visionary and the driving force to have the vision brought into reality.
Does that mean that perhaps the artist does not need to personally have any skill with brush, chisel or other tool?
After all, there are many artisans who have technical skills but lack the creative vision to bring something unique to life.
Perhaps the artist does have the skills necessary (as of course Da Vinci did) but lacks the time to breath life into all the visions that exist in his mind's eye. Thus using a team to bring the pieces forth benefits all...the artist, the team and the world.
I'd love to hear thoughts from other artists and art lovers on this...for example, if you bought an oil painting by a particular artist and learned that he or she didn't actually do all the painting on the canvas, would that matter to you? Would it have less value monetarily or spiritually for you?
If you'd to read more about the cleaning of the Da Vinci that insp, click here.
Showing posts with label buying art. Show all posts
Showing posts with label buying art. Show all posts
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
New Zealand Gallery Annual Sale
If you happen to be in New Zealand this month, be sure to stop by the Birdwoods Gallery in Hawkes Bay. They are having their annual sale so it is a great opportunity to buy some art to go with fine wine from the region.
Birdwoods has a nice collection of Shona ston
e sculpture along with metal pieces. In November 2009, Louise and Bruce converted an additional paddock into a 
beautiful sculpture walk with extensive olive tree plantings. Visitors follow a meandering mown path to view a further display of stone sculptures, as well as the life size metal giraffes and crocodiles. Sizes and prices range to fit every budget and suitcase (or shipping container.)Birdwoods also has a Sweet Shop to tempt you as you stroll the garden...so literally they have something for every taste!
Birdwoods Gallery, Sculpture |
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
2010 Colorado Governor's Invitational Art Show Going On Now
The 2010 Colorado Governor's Invitational Art Show and Sale is now happening at the Loveland Museum.
This is an excellent opportunity to see some of the best paintings and sculptures from our talented Colorado artists.
This show started 32 years ago, moving to the Loveland Museum in 1990. These days, more than 4,000 people from across the country attend the show. (Don't fear...that's not all at once!)
The show's director is Judy Archibald and she says, "This show is one of the most prestigious exhibits of original art in the entire western United States." Her goal in selecting the pieces was to show talent and a variety of media.
The show opened last Saturday. 58 Colorado artists are featured with a maximum of 4 pieces in the show. The artists are professionals, from all across Colorado.
Beyond being an excellent show, the exhibit is a fundraiser for the Loveland Rotary and Thompson Valley Rotary with proceeds going to scholarships for art students in Loveland and Berthoud, Colorado, and helping local organizations including Habitat fro Humanity and House of Neighborly Service.
The local Rotary clubs provide the volunteers who are present at the show every day to answer question.
This is a great show to attend if you are an art student looking to learn and gather inspiration. As an artist, it is also a great show to see what your contemporaries are doing and maybe learn and be inspired, too! And, if you are an art collector, this is an opportunity for you to expand your Colorado art collection and help a lot of deserving people and organizations in the process!
The Loveland Museum is located at 503 N. Lincoln Ave, Loveland, Colorado.
The show is free and runs through Sunday, May 30.
For more information call 970-962-2410 or visit www.governorsartshow.org
This is an excellent opportunity to see some of the best paintings and sculptures from our talented Colorado artists.
This show started 32 years ago, moving to the Loveland Museum in 1990. These days, more than 4,000 people from across the country attend the show. (Don't fear...that's not all at once!)
The show's director is Judy Archibald and she says, "This show is one of the most prestigious exhibits of original art in the entire western United States." Her goal in selecting the pieces was to show talent and a variety of media.
The show opened last Saturday. 58 Colorado artists are featured with a maximum of 4 pieces in the show. The artists are professionals, from all across Colorado.
Beyond being an excellent show, the exhibit is a fundraiser for the Loveland Rotary and Thompson Valley Rotary with proceeds going to scholarships for art students in Loveland and Berthoud, Colorado, and helping local organizations including Habitat fro Humanity and House of Neighborly Service.
The local Rotary clubs provide the volunteers who are present at the show every day to answer question.
This is a great show to attend if you are an art student looking to learn and gather inspiration. As an artist, it is also a great show to see what your contemporaries are doing and maybe learn and be inspired, too! And, if you are an art collector, this is an opportunity for you to expand your Colorado art collection and help a lot of deserving people and organizations in the process!
The Loveland Museum is located at 503 N. Lincoln Ave, Loveland, Colorado.
The show is free and runs through Sunday, May 30.
For more information call 970-962-2410 or visit www.governorsartshow.org
Monday, August 10, 2009
Art: More or Less
How do you gauge success at an art show? Is it more attendance? More participating artists? More pieces sold? More dollars in sales?
I was at two big sculpture shows this weekend. In my non-scientific observation I would say there were fewer artists participating and fewer patrons.
However I did see significant numbers of items being wrapped and carried out.
In today's paper there was a preliminary statement that said they believed more pieces sold this year than in years' past. More pieces, but the average price per piece was less. So a bigger number of pieces but less total dollar revenue.
This might be ideal for the show's organizers, but what about for everyone else?
I think this can be viewed as good news...more people got to appreciate and purchase more pieces from more artists. More pieces were shipped. The wealth was spread around.
In the past, many artists thought they had to go bigger and bigger in order to get the big sale. This year, those that did the best had smaller pieces that were affordable by more buyers.
Perhaps the successful artist was "reading" the market and bringing smaller works. Or perhaps he or she was just doing what felt right. Or perhaps it was different artists who sold.
You can decide that your work is best represented large...and know that you will have fewer sales but each will be a bigger dollar amount (and I know of several very large pieces that sold)...or you can decide that your work is best represented smaller...or perhaps you have a combination of both.
I believe that art is something that comes from our hearts and souls and speaks to the heart and soul of the buyer. Rather than changing your vision, think about how you can make your work be accessible to the buyer...maybe you have a smaller version available or maybe you can offer a payment plan for larger pieces.
The big lesson here is that you can sell art in any market. You have to believe that it is possible.
I was at two big sculpture shows this weekend. In my non-scientific observation I would say there were fewer artists participating and fewer patrons.
However I did see significant numbers of items being wrapped and carried out.
In today's paper there was a preliminary statement that said they believed more pieces sold this year than in years' past. More pieces, but the average price per piece was less. So a bigger number of pieces but less total dollar revenue.
This might be ideal for the show's organizers, but what about for everyone else?
I think this can be viewed as good news...more people got to appreciate and purchase more pieces from more artists. More pieces were shipped. The wealth was spread around.
In the past, many artists thought they had to go bigger and bigger in order to get the big sale. This year, those that did the best had smaller pieces that were affordable by more buyers.
Perhaps the successful artist was "reading" the market and bringing smaller works. Or perhaps he or she was just doing what felt right. Or perhaps it was different artists who sold.
You can decide that your work is best represented large...and know that you will have fewer sales but each will be a bigger dollar amount (and I know of several very large pieces that sold)...or you can decide that your work is best represented smaller...or perhaps you have a combination of both.
I believe that art is something that comes from our hearts and souls and speaks to the heart and soul of the buyer. Rather than changing your vision, think about how you can make your work be accessible to the buyer...maybe you have a smaller version available or maybe you can offer a payment plan for larger pieces.
The big lesson here is that you can sell art in any market. You have to believe that it is possible.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Keep the Dream Alive
Sometimes it is easy to get bogged down with the day-to-day routine and forget about our dreams and goals.
Don't let "life" get in the way of the dream. Whether your dream is to be an artist or to buy art, or just to enjoy looking at it. Do something every day to help move you forward towards that goal.
Sketch, be sure to really look at and see things that are around you--those are some of the best daily activities any artist can do (of course if you can daily paint or sculpt, or do whatever you medium is, that is all the better!)
The art buyer and lover can read on-line or in a traditional magazine. Find an article about a different style or different artist. Expand your horizons.
None of this takes a lot of time and it all helps keep the dream alive.
Don't let "life" get in the way of the dream. Whether your dream is to be an artist or to buy art, or just to enjoy looking at it. Do something every day to help move you forward towards that goal.
Sketch, be sure to really look at and see things that are around you--those are some of the best daily activities any artist can do (of course if you can daily paint or sculpt, or do whatever you medium is, that is all the better!)
The art buyer and lover can read on-line or in a traditional magazine. Find an article about a different style or different artist. Expand your horizons.
None of this takes a lot of time and it all helps keep the dream alive.
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